F I R S T K I N G S

CHAP. XI.

This chapter begins with as melancholy a "but" as
almost any we find in all the Bible. Hitherto we have read nothing
of Solomon but what was great and good; but the lustre both of his
goodness and of his greatness is here sullied and eclipsed, and his
sun sets under a cloud. I. The glory of his piety is stained by his
departure from God and his duty, in his latter days, marrying
strange wives and worshipping strange gods, ver. 4-8. II. The glory of his prosperity
is stained by God's displeasure against him and the fruits of that
displeasure. 1. He sent him an angry message, ver. 9-13. 2. He stirred up enemies, who
gave him disturbance, Hadad (ver.
14-22), Rezon, ver.
23-25. 3. He gave away ten tribes of his twelve, from
his posterity after him, to Jeroboam, whom therefore he sought in
vain to slay (ver.
26-40), and this is all that remains here to be told
concerning Solomon, except his death and burial (ver. 41-43), for there is nothing perfect
under the sun, but all is so above the sun.

Solomon's Defection and
Degeneracy. (b. c. 983.)

1 But king Solomon loved many strange women,
together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites,
Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; 2 Of
the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall
not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for
surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon
clave unto these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives,
princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away
his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old,
that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and
his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David
his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess
of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the
Ammonites. 6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.
7 Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the
abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem,
and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. 8
And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense
and sacrificed unto their gods.

This is a sad story, and very surprising,
of Solomon's defection and degeneracy.

I. Let us enquire into the occasions and
particulars of it. Shall Solomon fall, that was the beauty of
Israel, and so great a blessing of his generation? Yes, it is too
true, and the scripture is faithful in relating it, and repeating
it, and referring to it long after, Neh. xiii. 26. There was no king like
Solomon who was beloved of his God, yet even him did outlandish
women cause to sin. There is the summary of his apostasy; it
was the woman that deceived him, and was first in the
transgression.

1. He doted on strange women, many
strange women. Here his revolt began. (1.) He gave himself to
women, which his mother had particularly cautioned him against.
Prov. xxxi. 3, Give not
thy strength unto women (perhaps alluding to Samson, who lost
his strength by giving information of it to a woman), for it is
that which, as much as any thing, destroys kings. His father
David's fall began with the lusts of the flesh, which he should
have taken warning by. The love of women has cast down many
wounded (Prov. vii. 26)
and many (says bishop Hall) have had their head broken by
their own rib. (2.) He took many women, so many that, at last,
they amounted to 700 wives and 300 concubines, 1000 in all, and not
one good one among them, as he himself owns in his penitential
sermon (Eccl. vii. 28), for
no woman of established virtue would be one of such a set. God had,
by his law, particularly forbidden the kings to multiply either
horses or wives, Deut. xvii. 16,
17. How he broke the former law, in multiplying horses,
and having them out of Egypt too (which was expressly
prohibited in that law) we read ch. x. 29, and here we are told how
he broke the latter (which proved of more fatal consequence) in
multiplying wives. Note, Less sins, made gold with, open the door
to greater. David had multiplied wives too much, and perhaps that
made Solomon presume it lawful. Note, If those that are in
reputation for religion in any thing set a bad example, they know
not what a deal of mischief they may do by it, particularly to
their own children. One bad act of a good man may be of more
pernicious consequence to others than twenty of a wicked man.
Probably Solomon, when he began to multiply wives, intended not to
exceed his father's number. But the way of sin is down-hill; those
that have got into it cannot easily stop themselves. Divine wisdom
has appointed one woman for one man, did so at first; and those who
do not think one enough will not think two or three enough.
Unbridled lust will be unbounded, and the loosened hind will wander
endlessly. But this was not all: (3.) They were strange women,
Moabites, Ammonites, &c., of the nations which God had
particularly forbidden them to intermarry with, v. 2. Some think it was in policy that
he married these foreigners, by them to get intelligence of the
state of those countries. I rather fear it was because the
daughters of Israel were too grave and modest for him, and those
foreigners pleased him with the looseness and wantonness of their
dress, and air, and conversation. Or, perhaps, it was looked upon
as a piece of state to have his seraglio, as his other treasures,
replenished with that which was far-fetched; as if that were too
great an honour for the best of his subjects which would really
have been a disgrace to the meanest of them—to be his mistresses.
And, (4.) To complete the mischief, Solomon clave unto these in
love, v. 2. He
not only kept them, but was extravagantly fond of them, set his
heart upon them, spent his time among them, thought every thing
well they said and did, and despised Pharaoh's daughter, his
rightful wife, who had been dear to him, and all the ladies of
Israel, in comparison of them. Solomon was master of a great deal
of knowledge, but to what purpose, when he had no better a
government of his appetites?

2. He was drawn by them to the worship of
strange gods, as Israel to Baal-peor by the daughters of Moab. This
was the bad consequence of his multiplying wives. We have reason to
think it impaired his health, and hastened upon him the decays of
age; it exhausted his treasure, which, though vast indeed, would be
found little enough to maintain the pride and vanity of all these
women; perhaps it occasioned him, in his latter end, to neglect his
business, by which he lost his supplies from abroad, and was
forced, for the keeping up of his grandeur, to burden his subjects
with those taxes which they complained of, ch. xii. 4. But none of these
consequences were so bad as this: His wives turned away his
heart after other gods, v. 3, 4. (1.) He grew cool and
indifferent in his own religion and remiss in the service of the
God of Israel: His heart was not perfect with the Lord his
God (v. 4), nor
did he follow him fully (v. 6), like David. We cannot suppose
that he quite cast off the worship of God, much less that he
restrained or hindered it (the temple-service went on as usual);
but he grew less frequent, and less serious, in his ascent to
the house of the Lord and his attendance on his altar. He left
his first love, lost his zeal for God, and did not persevere to the
end as he had begun; therefore it is said he was not
perfect, because he was not constant; and he followed
not God fully, because he turned from following him, and did not
continue to the end. His father David had many faults, but he never
neglected the worship of God, nor grew remiss in that, as Solomon
did (his wives using all their arts to divert him from it), and
there began his apostasy. (2.) He tolerated and maintained
his wives in their idolatry and made no scruple of joining with
them in it. Pharaoh's daughter was proselyted (as is supposed) to
the Jews' religion, but, when he began to grow careless in the
worship of God himself, he used no means to convert his other wives
to it; in complaisance to them, he built chapels for their gods
(v. 7, 8),
maintained their priests, and occasionally did himself attend their
altars, making a jest of it, asking, "What harm is there in it? Are
not all religions alike?" which (says bishop Patrick) has been the
disease of some great wits. When he humoured one thus, the
rest would take it ill if he did not, in like manner, gratify them,
so that he did it for all his wives (v. 8), and at last came to such a
degree of impiety that he set up a high place for Chemosh in the
hill that is before Jerusalem, the mount of Olives, as
if to confront the temple which he himself had built. These high
places continued here, not utterly demolished, till Josiah's time,
2 Kings xxiii. 13. This is
the account here given of Solomon's apostasy.

II. Let us now pause awhile, and lament
Solomon's fall; and we may justly stand and wonder at it. How
has the gold become dim! How has the most fine gold changed! Be
astonished, O heavens! at this, and be horribly afraid, as the
prophet exclaims in a like case, Jer.
ii. 12.

1. How strange, (1.) That Solomon, in his
old age, should be ensnared with fleshly lusts, youthful lusts. As
we must never presume upon the strength of our resolutions, so
neither upon the weakness of our corruptions, so as to be secure
and off our guard. (2.) That so wise a man as Solomon was, so famed
for a quick understanding and sound judgment, should suffer himself
to be made such a fool of by these foolish women. (3.) That one who
had so often and so plainly warned others of the danger of the love
of women should himself be so wretchedly bewitched with it; it is
easier to see a mischief, and to show it to others, than to shun it
ourselves. (4.) That so good a man, so zealous for the worship of
God, who had been so conversant with divine things, and who prayed
that excellent prayer at the dedication of the temple, should do
these sinful things. Is this Solomon? Have all his wisdom and
devotion come to this at last? Never was gallant ship so wrecked;
never was crown so profaned.

2. What shall we say to all this? Why God
permitted it it is not for us to enquire; his way is in the sea and
his path in the great waters; he knew how to bring glory to himself
out of it. God foresaw it when he said concerning him that should
build the temple, If he commit iniquity, &c., 2 Sam. vii. 14. But it concerns us to
enquire what good use we may make of it. (1.) Let him that thinks
he stands take heed lest he fall. We see how weak we are of
ourselves, without the grace of God; let us therefore live in a
constant dependence on that grace. (2.) See the danger of a
prosperous condition, and how hard it is to overcome the
temptations of it. Solomon, like Jeshurun, waxed fat and then
kicked. The food convenient, which Agur prayed for, is safer and
better than the food abundant, which Solomon was even surfeited
with. (3.) See what need those have to stand upon their guard who
have made a great profession of religion, and shown themselves
forward and zealous in devotion, because the devil will set upon
them most violently, and, if they misbehave, the reproach is the
greater. It is the evening that commends the day; let us therefore
fear, lest, having run well, we seem to come short.

God's Displeasure against
Solomon. (b. c. 983.)

9 And the Lord
was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared
unto him twice, 10 And had commanded him concerning this
thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that
which the Lord commanded. 11
Wherefore the Lord said unto
Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept
my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will
surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.
12 Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David
thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy
son. 13 Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom;
but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's
sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.

Here is, I. God's anger against Solomon for
his sin. The thing he did displeased the Lord. Time was then
the Lord loved Solomon (2 Sam.
xii. 24) and delighted in him (ch. x. 9), but now the Lord was
angry with Solomon (v.
9), for there was in his sin, 1. The most base
ingratitude that could be. He turned from the Lord who had
appeared unto him twice, once before he began to build the
temple (ch. iii. 5)
and once after he had dedicated it, ch. ix. 2. God keeps account of the
gracious visits he makes us, whether we do or no, knows how often
he has appeared to us and for us, and will remember
it against us if we turn from him. God's appearing to
Solomon was such a sensible confirmation of his faith as should
have for ever prevented his worshipping any other god; it
was also such a distinguishing favour, and put such an honour upon
him, as he ought never to have forgotten, especially considering
what God said to him in both these appearances. 2. The most wilful
disobedience. This was the very thing concerning which God had
commanded him—that he should not go after other gods, yet he
was not restrained by such an express admonition, v. 10. Those who have
dominion over men are apt to forget God's dominion over them; and,
while they demand obedience from their inferiors, to deny it to him
who is the Supreme.

II. The message he sent him hereupon
(v. 11): The
Lord said unto Solomon (it is likely by a prophet) that he must
expect to smart for his apostasy. And here, 1. The sentence is
just, that, since he had revolted from God, part of his kingdom
should revolt from his family; he had given God's glory to the
creature, and therefore God would give his crown to his servant:
"I will rend the kingdom from thee, in thy posterity, and
will give it to thy servant, who shall bear rule over much
of that for which thou hast laboured." This was a great
mortification to Solomon, who pleased himself no doubt with the
prospect of the entail of his rich kingdom upon his heirs for ever.
Sin brings ruin upon families, cuts off entails, alienates estates,
and lays men's honour in the dust. 2. Yet the mitigations of it are
very kind, for David's sake (v. 12, 13), that is, for the sake
of the promise made to David. Thus all the favour God shows to man
is for Christ's sake, and for the sake of the covenant made
with him. The kingdom shall be rent from Solomon's house, but, (1.)
Not immediately. Solomon shall not live to see it done, but it
shall be rent out of the hand of his son, a son that was
born to him by one of his strange wives, for his mother was an
Ammonitess (1 Kings xiv.
31) and probably had been a promoter of idolatry. What
comfort can a man take in leaving children and an estate behind him
if he do not leave a blessing behind him? Yet, if judgments be
coming, it is a favour to us if they come not in our days, as
2 Kings xx. 19. (2.) Not
wholly. One tribe, that of Judah, the strongest and most numerous,
shall remain to the house of David (v. 13), for Jerusalem's sake, which
David built, and for the sake of the temple there, which Solomon
built; these shall not go into other hands. Solomon did not quickly
nor wholly turn away from God; therefore God did not quickly nor
wholly take the kingdom from him.

Upon this message which God graciously sent
to Solomon, to awaken his conscience and bring him to repentance,
we have reason to hope that he humbled himself before God,
confessed his sin, begged pardon, and returned to his duty, that he
then published his repentance in the book of Ecclesiastes, where he
bitterly laments his own folly and madness (ch. vii. 25, 26), and warns others
to take heed of the like evil courses, and to fear God and
keep his commandments, in consideration of the judgment
to come, which, it is likely, had made him tremble, as it did
Felix. That penitential sermon was as true an indication of a heart
broken for sin and turned from it as David's penitential psalms
were, though of another nature. God's grace in his people works
variously. Thus, though Solomon fell, he was not utterly cast
down; what God had said to David concerning him was fulfilled:
I will chasten him with the rod of men, but my mercy shall not
depart from him, 2 Sam. vii.
14, 15. Though God may suffer those whom he loves to
fall into sin, he will not suffer them to lie still in it.
Solomon's defection, though it was much his reproach and a great
blemish to his personal character, yet did not so far break in upon
the character of his reign but that it was afterwards made the
pattern of a good reign, 2 Chron. xi.
17, where the kings are said to have done well, while
they walked in the way of David and Solomon. But, though we
have all this reason to hope he repented and found mercy, yet the
Holy Ghost did not think fit expressly to record his recovery, but
left it doubtful, for warning to others not to sin upon presumption
of repenting, for it is but a peradventure whether God will give
them repentance, or, if he do, whether he will give the
evidence of it to themselves or others. Great sinners may recover
themselves and have the benefit of their repentance, and yet be
denied both the comfort and credit of it; the guilt may be taken
away, and yet not the reproach.

Solomon's Adversaries. (b. c. 980.)

14 And the Lord
stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he
was of the king's seed in Edom. 15 For it came to
pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was
gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom;
16 (For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel,
until he had cut off every male in Edom:) 17 That Hadad
fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to
go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child. 18 And
they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with
them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of
Egypt; which gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave
him land. 19 And Hadad found great favour in the sight of
Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife,
the sister of Tahpenes the queen. 20 And the sister of
Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in
Pharaoh's house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the
sons of Pharaoh. 21 And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David
slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was
dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine
own country. 22 Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast
thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own
country? And he answered, Nothing: howbeit let me go in any wise.
23 And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon
the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of
Zobah: 24 And he gathered men unto him, and became captain
over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to
Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus. 25 And
he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the
mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned
over Syria.

While Solomon kept closely to God and to
his duty there was no adversary nor evil occurrent
(ch. v. 4), nothing
to create him any disturbance or uneasiness in the least; but here
we have an account of two adversaries that appeared against him,
inconsiderable, and that could not have done any thing worth taking
notice of if Solomon had not first made God his enemy. What hurt
could Hadad or Rezon have done to so great and powerful a king as
Solomon was if he had not, by sin, made himself mean and weak? And
then those little people menace and insult him. If God be on our
side, we need not fear the greatest adversary; but, if he be
against us, he can make us fear the least, and the very grasshopper
shall be a burden. Observe,

I. Both these adversaries God stirred up,
v. 14, 23.
Though they themselves were moved by principles of ambition or
revenge, God made use of them to serve his design of correcting
Solomon. The principal judgment threatened was deferred, namely,
the rending of the kingdom from him, but he himself was made to feel
the smart of the rod, for his greater humiliation. Note, Whoever
are, in any way, adversaries to us, we must take notice of the hand
of God stirring them up to be so, as he bade Shimei curse David; we
must look through the instruments of our trouble to the author of
it and hear the Lord's controversy in it.

II. Both these adversaries had the origin
of their enmity to Solomon and Israel laid in David's time, and in
his conquests of their respective countries, v. 15, 24. Solomon had the benefit
and advantage of his father's successes both in the enlargement of
his dominion and the increase of his treasure, and would never have
known any thing but the benefit of them if he had kept closely to
God; but now he finds evils to balance the advantages, and that
David had made himself enemies, who were thorns in his sides. Those
that are too free in giving provocation ought to consider that
perhaps it may be remembered in time to come and returned with
interest to theirs after them; having so few friends in this world,
it is our wisdom not to make ourselves more enemies than we needs
must.

1. Hadad, an Edomite, was an adversary to
Solomon. We are not told what he did against him, nor which way he
gave him disturbance, only, in general, that he was an adversary to
him: but we are told, (1.) What induced him to bear Solomon a
grudge. David had conquered Edom, 2
Sam. viii. 14. Joab put all the males to the sword,
v. 15, 16. A
terrible execution he made, avenging on Edom their old enmity to
Israel, yet perhaps with too great a severity. From this general
slaughter, while Joab was burying the slain (for he left not any
alive of their own people to bury them, and buried they must be, or
they would be an annoyance to the country, Ezek. xxxix. 12), Hadad, a branch of the
royal family, then a little child, was taken and preserved by some
of the king's servants, and conveyed to Egypt, v. 17. They halted by the way, in
Midian first, and then in Paran, where they furnished themselves
with men, not to fight for them or force their passage, but to
attend them, that their young master might go into Egypt with an
equipage agreeable to his quality. There he was kindly sheltered
and entertained by Pharaoh, as a distressed prince, as well
provided for, and so recommended himself that, in process of time,
he married the queen's sister (v. 19), and by her had a child, which
the queen herself conceived such a kindness for that she brought
him up in Pharaoh's house, among the king's children. (2.) What
enabled him to do Solomon a mischief. Upon the death of David and
Joab, he returned to his own country, in which, it should seem, he
settled and remained quiet while Solomon continued wise and
watchful for the public good, but from which he had opportunity of
making inroads upon Israel when Solomon, having sinned away his
wisdom as Samson did his strength (and in the same way), grew
careless of public affairs, was off his guard himself, and had
forfeited the divine protection. What vexation Hadad gave to
Solomon we are not here told, but only how loth Pharaoh was to part
with him and how earnestly he solicited his stay (v. 22): What hast thou
lacked with me? "Nothing," says Hadad; "but let me go to my own
country, my native air, my native soil." Peter Martyr has a pious
reflection upon this: "Heaven is our home, and we ought to keep up
a holy affection to that, and desire towards it, even when the
world, the place of our banishment, smiles most upon us." Does it
ask, What have you lacked, that you are so willing to be gone? We
may answer, "Nothing that the world can do for us; but still let us
go thither, where our hope, and honour, and treasure are."

2. Rezon, a Syrian, was another adversary
to Solomon. When David conquered the Syrians, he headed the
remains, lived at large by spoil and rapine, till Solomon grew
careless, and then he got possession of Damascus, reigned there
(v. 24) and over
the country about (v.
25), and he created troubles to Israel, probably in
conjunction with Hadad, all the days of Solomon (namely, after his
apostasy), or he was an enemy to Israel during all Solomon's reign,
and upon all occasions vented his then impotent malice against
them, but till Solomon's revolt, when his defence had departed from
him, he could not do them any mischief. It is said of him that
he abhorred Israel. Other princes loved and admired Israel
and Solomon, and courted their friendship, but here was one that
abhorred them. The greatest and best of princes and people, however
much they may in general be respected, will yet perhaps be hated
and abhorred by some.

Jeroboam's Promotion
Foretold. (b. c. 977.)

26 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite
of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was
Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against
the king. 27 And this was the cause that he lifted up
his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and
repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. 28
And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon
seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler
over all the charge of the house of Joseph. 29 And it came
to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the
prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad
himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the
field: 30 And Ahijah caught the new garment that was
on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: 31 And he said
to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the
kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to
thee: 32 (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's
sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of
all the tribes of Israel:) 33 Because that they have
forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the
Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of
the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do
that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my
statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.
34 Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I
will make him prince all the days of his life for David my
servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and
my statutes: 35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son's
hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. 36
And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may
have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have
chosen me to put my name there. 37 And I will take thee, and
thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt
be king over Israel. 38 And it shall be, if thou wilt
hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and
do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my
commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee,
and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give
Israel unto thee. 39 And I will for this afflict the seed of
David, but not for ever. 40 Solomon sought therefore to kill
Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak
king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

We have here the first mention of that
infamous name Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that made Israel to
sin; he is here brought upon the stage as an adversary to
Solomon, whom God had expressly told (v. 11) that he would give the
greatest part of his kingdom to his servant, and Jeroboam was the
man. We have here an account,

I. Of his extraction, v. 26. He was of the tribe of
Ephraim, he next in honour to Judah. His mother was a widow, to
whom Providence had made up the loss of a husband in a son that was
active and ingenious, and (we may suppose) a great support and
comfort to her.

II. Of his elevation. It was Solomon's
wisdom, when he had work to do, to employ proper persons in it. He
observed Jeroboam to be a very industrious young man, one that
minded his business, took a pleasure in it, and did it with all his
might, and therefore he gradually advanced him, till at length he
made him receiver-general for the two tribes of Ephraim and
Manasseh, or perhaps put him into an office equivalent to that of
lord-lieutenant of those two counties, for he was ruler of the
burden, or tribute, that is, either of the taxes or of the militia
of the house of Joseph. Note, Industry is the way to preferment.
Seest thou a man diligent in his business, that will take
care and pains, and go through with it? he shall stand before
kings, and not always be on the level with mean men. Observe a
difference between David, and both his predecessor and his
successor: when Saul saw a valiant man he took him to
himself (1 Sam. xiv.
52); when Solomon saw an industrious man he
preferred him; but David's eyes were upon the faithful in the
land, that they might dwell with him: if he saw a godly
man, he preferred him, for he was a man after God's own heart,
whose countenance beholds the upright.

III. Of his designation to the government
of the ten tribes after the death of Solomon. Some think he was
himself plotting against Solomon, and contriving to rise to the
throne, that he was turbulent and aspiring. The Jews say that when
he was employed by Solomon in building Millo he took opportunities
of reflecting upon Solomon as oppressive to his people, and
suggesting that which would alienate them from his government. It
is not indeed probable that he should say much to that purport, for
Solomon would have got notice of it, and it would have hindered his
preferment; but it is plainly intimated that he had it in his
thoughts, for the prophet tells him (v. 37), Thou shalt reign according
to all that thy soul desireth. But this was the cause,
or rather this was the story, of the lifting up of his hand
against the king: Solomon made him ruler over the tribes of Joseph,
and, as he was going to take possession of his government, he was
told by a prophet in God's name that he should be king, which
emboldened him to aim high, and in some instances to oppose the
king and give him vexation. 1. The prophet by whom this message was
sent was Ahijah of Shiloh; we shall read of him again,
ch. xiv. 2. It
seems, Shiloh was not so perfectly forsaken and forgotten of God
but that, in remembrance of the former days, it was blessed with a
prophet. He delivered his message to Jeroboam in the way, his
servants being probably ordered to retire, as in a like case
(1 Sam. ix. 27), when
Samuel delivered his message to Saul. God's word was not the less
sacred and sure for being delivered to him thus obscurely, under a
hedge it may be. 2. The sign by which it was represented to him was
the rending of a garment into twelve pieces, and giving him ten,
v. 30, 31. It is
not certain whether the garment was Jeroboam's, as is commonly
taken for granted, or Ahijah's, which is more probable: He
(that is, the prophet) had clad himself with a new garment,
on purpose that he might with it give him a sign. The rending of
the kingdom from Saul was signified by the rending of Samuel's
mantle, not Saul's, 1 Sam. xv. 27,
28. And it was more significant to give Jeroboam ten
pieces of that which was not his own before than of that which was.
The prophets, both true and false, used such signs, even in the New
Testament, as Agabus, Acts xxi. 10,
11. 3. The message itself, which is very particular,
(1.) He assures him that he shall be king over ten of the twelve
tribes of Israel, v.
31. The meanness of his extraction and employment shall
be no hindrance to his advancement, when the God of Israel says (by
whom kings reign), I will give ten tribes unto thee. (2.) He
tells him the reason; not for his good character or deserts, but
for the chastising of Solomon's apostasy: "Because he, and his
family, and many of his people with him, have forsaken me, and
worshipped other gods," v.
33. It was because they had done ill, not because he was
likely to do much better. Thus Israel must know that it is not
for their righteousness that they are made masters of
Canaan, but for the wickedness of the Canaanites, Deut. ix. 4. Jeroboam did not deserve
so good a post, but Israel deserved so bad a prince. In telling him
that the reason why he rent the kingdom from the house of Solomon
was because they had forsaken God, he warns him to take heed of
sinning away his preferment in like manner. (3.) He limits his
expectations to the ten tribes only, and to them in reversion after
the death of Solomon, lest he should aim at the whole and give
immediate disturbance to Solomon's government. He is here told,
[1.] That two tribes (called here one tribe, because little
Benjamin was in a manner lost in the thousands of Judah) should
remain sure to the house of David, and he must never make any
attempt upon them: He shall have one tribe (v. 32), and again (v. 36), That David may
have a lamp, that is, a shining name and memory (Ps. cxxxii. 17), and his family, as
a royal family, may not be extinct. He must not think that David
was rejected, as Saul was. No, God would not take his
loving-kindness from him, as he did from Saul. The house of David
must be supported and kept in reputation, for all this, because out
of it the Messiah must arise. Destroy it not, for that
blessing is in it. [2.] That Solomon must keep possession
during his life, v. 34,
35. Jeroboam therefore must not offer to dethrone him,
but wait with patience till his day shall come to fall. Solomon
shall be prince, all the days of his life, not for his own
sake (he had forfeited his crown to the justice of God), but for
David my servant's sake, because he kept my commandments.
Children that do not tread in their parents' steps yet often fare
the better in this world for their good parents' piety. (4.) He
gives him to understand that he will be upon his good behaviour.
The grant of the crown must run quamdiu se bene gesserit—during
good behaviour. "If thou wilt do what is right in my sight,
I will build thee a sure house, and not otherwise" (v. 38), intimating that, if
he forsook God, even his advancement to the throne would in time
lay his family in the dust; whereas the seed of David, though
afflicted, should not be afflicted for ever (v. 39), but should flourish again, as
it did in many of the illustrious kings of Judah, who reigned in
glory when Jeroboam's family was extirpated.

IV. Jeroboam's flight into Egypt, v. 40. In some way or other
Solomon came to know of all this, probably from Jeroboam's own talk
of it; he could not conceal it as Saul did, nor keep his own
counsel; if he had, he might have staid in his country, and been
preparing there for his future advancement; but letting it be
known, 1. Solomon foolishly sought to kill his successor. Had not
he taught others that, whatever devices are in men's hearts, the
counsel of the Lord shall stand? And yet does he himself think
to defeat that counsel? 2. Jeroboam prudently withdrew into Egypt.
Though God's promise would have secured him any where, yet he would
use means for his own preservation, and was content to live in
exile and obscurity for a while, being sure of a kingdom at last.
And shall not we be so, who have a better kingdom in reserve?

The Death of Solomon. (b. c. 975.)

41 And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all
that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the
book of the acts of Solomon? 42 And the time that Solomon
reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
43 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city
of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

We have here the conclusion of Solomon's
story, and in it, 1. Reference is had to another history then
extant, but (not being divinely inspired) since lost, the Book
of the Acts of Solomon, v.
41. Probably this book was written by a chronologer or
historiographer, whom Solomon employed to write his annals, out of
which the sacred writer extracted what God saw fit to transmit to
the church. 2. A summary of the years of his reign (v. 42): He reigned in
Jerusalem (not, as his father, part of his time in Hebron and
part in Jerusalem), over all Israel (not as his son, and his
father in the beginning of his time, over Judah only), forty
years. His reign was as long as his father's, but not his life.
Sin shortened his days. 3. His death and burial, and his successor,
v. 43. (1.) He
followed his fathers to the grave, slept with them, and was buried
in David's burying-place, with honour no doubt. (2.) His son
followed him in the throne. Thus the graves are filling with the
generations that go off, and houses are filling with those that are
growing up. As the grave cries, "Give, give," so land is never lost
for want of an heir.